How Your Breakfast Can Save The Economy

Want to help stimulate your local economy? Easy. Pick up a glass of organic dairy milk or drizzle some over your cereal. While presidential candidates were fighting over job creation tactics these past few months, it turns out your neighborhood heifers were busy stimulating growth in rural communities. A first-of-its-kind report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) recently found that dairies—specifically organic ones—contributed millions to state economies in recent years, while other industries, including conventional farming, faced serious setbacks.

"Over the past 30 years, dairy farmers have had a choice: Either get big or get out. Dairy farmers either had to expand dramatically and become large industrial operations or they went out of business," says report author Jeffrey O'Hara, an agricultural economist for the Food and Environment Program at UCS. "However, organic dairy production offers farmers another option—one that is better for the environment, produces a healthier product, and leads to greater levels of economic activity."

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Looking at data collected from dairy-friendly states Vermont and Minnesota, analysts concluded that organic farms in the two states combined to create $154 million and about 1,700 jobs.

Of course, these stats are even more encouraging considering the health benefits of organic milk. Numerous studies show that organic milk contains higher levels of heart- and brain-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Cows that provide organic milk eat feed that's free of chemical pesticides and genetically engineered ingredients, and they don't receive genetically engineered growth hormones. (Confused about organic eats? Check out our guide on Fruits And Veggies To Buy Organic.)

That info seems to be striking a chord with consumers: Nationwide, organic dairy farming continues to grow, and currently represents a $750 million business. In 2010, organic milk sales rose 12%.

Despite this trend, the UCS report notes that large-scale, conventional dairy purveyors are still favored by the United States Department of Agriculture's programs and the federal government's Farm Bill, which offers taxpayer-subsidized payments to dairy farmers. As of now, any changes to the 2012 Farm Bill are still pending, so UCS recommends contacting your federal lawmakers and USDA officials if you want them to support initiatives that are friendlier to the organic dairy industry.